NCDC Says Tinubus ₦10 Billion Is Meant to Fight Many Diseases, Not Just Ebola

(DG, Dr Jide Idris. Photo Credit: The Guardian Nigeria News)

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control says the ₦10 billion emergency fund approved by President Tinubu in June 2026 was not meant only for Ebola.

It is meant to help Nigeria prepare for many health threats, including Lassa fever, cholera, meningitis, diphtheria, measles, mpox and drug resistant infections.

NCDC Director General Dr Jide Idris made the clarification on Monday.

He said the money went directly to the NCDC, not to the Presidential Task Force on Ebola led by Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila.

Idris criticised politicians who he said were spreading misinformation about the fund.

He said health emergencies should not become a political fight.

He defended the size of the fund.

He said Nigeria's five year health security plan, covering 2025 to 2029, will cost about ₦522 billion, or roughly ₦104.4 billion a year.

He said the ₦10 billion is only about two per cent of that yearly cost.

He added that the NCDC's budget has grown from ₦4 billion in 2024 to ₦7 billion in 2025, and that the 2026 budget gives it ₦22 billion.

He also said the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board estimates countries need between $1 and $2 per person each year to be ready for epidemics.

For Nigeria's 240 million people, that works out to between $240 million and $480 million a year, and he said the gap must be closed.

Nigeria confirmed its first imported Ebola case on October 20, 2026.

The patient was a 42 year old woman who had travelled from Uganda.

The NCDC identified 62 contacts, and monitoring runs until November 13.

The patient was taken to Switzerland on October 26 with her husband.

She was reported to be stable and improving.